As Kane arrived at the Savvis Center in St.
Louis on Sunday before the No Mercy Pay-Per-View, he realized something. "I was thinking, 'This is where the whole Kane thing started,'" he
said.

It was four years ago this month, in St. Louis,
that Kane made his unforgettable debut in the World Wrestling Federation. It was
during an unforgettable match -- Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels in the first
(and, many say, best) Hell in a Cell. Accompanied by his manager/father Paul
Bearer, who had only recently revealed that Undertaker's assumed-to-be-dead
brother was in fact still alive, Kane ripped the door off the cell, entered the
ring and stood eye-to-eye with the Phenom at the apex of the Badd Blood
Pay-Per-View.

"It's such a small thing now, but at the
time, him ripping the door off the cage -- nobody did stuff like that,"
said Triple H, who was at the event. "Not knowing who he was, him going in
there and doing something to the Undertaker was a huge moment."

Asked what he remembers about that night --
Oct. 5, 1997, -- the Big Red Machine said, "Going out to the ring, my main
concern was that, they (Michaels and Undertaker) had such a great match, that I
didn't screw the whole thing up. To be involved in that, to come along at a time
when our business was in the process of skyrocketing, of taking off again, I've
been fortunate."

He doesn't really talk -- he has in the last
year or so, but not much," Triple H said. "So he doesn't really cut
promos (speak on the microphone). It's a 'gimmick' in that it's not a real-life
character with the basic ups and downs of everyday life. He's got a mask on.
He's got no facial expressions. To me the amount of emotions that Kane draws out
of the crowd with his face hidden -- they can not see his facial reactions to
things -- that's a testament to him and how talented he is as a performer."

Indeed, it is Kane's talent and work ethic that
has been the key to his success in the Federation.

Talent

What Kane can do is communicate with non-verbal behavior. He's mastered the art
of the subtle head-turn to express his feelings. When he tilted his head
slightly Monday on RAW during his segment with Diamond Dallas Page, fans knew
that it was on. Soon, DDP was the victim of a chokeslam.

And then there's his God-given athletic ability
-- which is amazing for a man of his size.

"I first saw Kane in Smoky Mountain
Wrestling, and I came back and told Vince (McMahon) that I saw what I perceived
to be a future star," Ross said. "An extremely large, powerful human
being that was a real good athlete. For a big guy, he was really exceptional. He
does some things that 6-foot-10, 325-pound guys just don't do."

Work ethic

Several months ago, rumors circulated there was a different superstar under the
Kane mask. But "Kane" has been the same Kane since day one. The
difference is that, over the years, he has gotten into better and better shape.

"I work hard in the gym. I try to eat
right and do all those things," Kane said. "It's just years of working
towards a goal, trying to be in the top physical shape that you can be in.
Actually, I'm (about 15 pounds) heavier now than I was when I debuted, but my
body fat is lower, which is something that everybody's trying to do, especially
in this business."

That's just one example of Kane's commitment to
excellence.

"What's made him good is that he's had
that willingness to work hard and to try to improve," Ross said. "He's
become a true student of the game. Nobody works harder than he does. Nobody
prepares any harder than he does. He's worked through a variety of injuries.
He's probably one of the most durable, physically and mentally tough guys that
we have.

"I've seen a lot of other big guys who had
raw potential who just didn't apply themselves - at a certain point, they found
a comfort zone, and they quit working to get better. I don't think that Kane is,
by any stretch of the imagination, as good as he's going to be.

He's improved in every sense of the game since
he debuted. I have a tremendous amount of respect for this man. I wish everybody
in our locker room and everybody that we recruit would have his work ethic and
character. He's a credit to the business."

With his talent and work ethic, Kane is
entering his fifth year as a prominent part of Federation telecasts. He's been
World Wrestling Federation Champion -- albeit only for one day -- Federation
Hardcore and Tag Team Champion and even WCW Tag Team Champion. He also beat
Triple H in a memorable Chain match at this year's Judgment Day Pay-Per-View, in
a match he calls one of the highlights of his career, to claim the
Intercontinental Title.

And in spite of the fact that he wears a mask
and is closely associated with the Undertaker, Kane has been able to advance as
a character. Whereas he was originally mute and "impervious to pain,"
Kane speaks time to time, and he has even shown vulnerability.

He's also shown a comedic side. It would've
been unthinkable four years ago that he'd be singing karaoke or riding a scooter
in a Stacker 2 commercial, cooking dinner in a Chef Boyardee commercial, or
appearing in a commercial at all for that matter.

"I still think one of the funniest things
ever was the interview with Chris Benoit where I said I was never picked last in
kickball," Kane said. "That's something that I think shocked people.
That and the commercials that I've done -- people would have never thought Kane
could do stuff like that, and it still works."

Could the Kane character continue to evolve by
losing the mask? Every few months, rumors pop up that it's going to happen. But
it hasn't yet.

"I have mixed feelings about it,"
Kane said. "There are advantages and there are disadvantages. On one hand,
(the mask) is what makes the character unique. But on the other hand, as we've
seen throughout the years -- take for example Undertaker -- he's always been
able to evolve and adapt over 10 years. He's not the same character that he was
10 years ago.

"I don't know. It all depends on how it
would benefit Kane and benefit the World Wrestling Federation."

What Kane knows for sure is that he still has
goals that he wants to accomplish, although they're not specific.

"Being the best that I can be," he
said. "That's sort of an abstract thing, but that's something that
everybody should try to do, to be at their peak performance. That's not a
concrete thing like saying, 'winning the Federation Championship.' It's just
that self-fulfillment of knowing that you've done the best you can - the best
that you can potentially can be. And that's not only in wrestling. That's
something that everybody should be able to relate to in life."

But whatever the future holds, Kane has already
made his mark in the Federation.

"It doesn't surprise me that he's been
here four years," Triple H said. "It won't surprise me in another four
when he's still here and he's still one of the top guys in the business, because
he's one of the best performers in the industry. He's one of the better big men
that there has ever been in the business. He's gonna be around and be successful
for a long, long time."

Said
Kane, "Some of the fan mail that I get -- I can't always answer it, but
some of it is very profound. For example, I got a letter from a lady who had
been cut when she was a child, in the face, and had a very significant scar. She
talked about what the Kane character means as far as overcoming things like
that. That stuff is pretty strong and it tugs at your heart for sure. I'm glad
I've had the opportunity to entertain people and to affect people in that
manner."